Story TOpics

The Buchholz High School math team swept the Florida Mu Alpha Theta competition over the weekend, bringing home their 10-straight state championship. The Gainesville Sun (https://bit.ly/1iRXl1x ) reports the Buchholz team tied Broward County’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School for the most number of wins in the history of the competition. Stoneman Douglas won 10 times in 11 years.

“It ended up being a lot bigger than we anticipated, and that was really exciting,” said math teacher and team coach Will Frazer.

The team won the Mu, Alpha and Theta levels, representing three levels of play. They also won the relay and hustle events to finish best in all five major events at the competition. Some 1,100 students representing 56 schools participated in the event.

“It just feels really satisfying to have all of our hard work pay off,” said Minjia Zhong, 17, who completed mainly in the calculus events. A senior, she has been part of the team since she was in eighth grade.

“It’s feels really good to have been part of something that’s such a unique experience,” added Zhong, who is off to Stanford University once she graduates from high school.

Her teammate, senior Kevin Huang, agreed, adding, “We try to make friends with the other teams.”

Huang, 18, will likely attend Yale University next year. He says there is a sense of accomplishment among his teammates for making history in the competition.

The Buchholz is now preparing to head to Orlando for the national competition this summer.